Conventionally, there are cross belt sorters that convey a plurality of cells on a conveyance path and that also transfer articles in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction using a belt mechanism that is provided in each of the plurality of cells. The cross belt sorters load articles onto belts of belt mechanisms of respective cells from injectors and transfer the articles to chutes corresponding to sorting destinations of the respective articles by driving the belts when the cells are adjacent to the corresponding chutes. However, during the transfer of articles on the belts of the cells to the chutes by the belt mechanisms, if the release timing varies depending on the weight of the articles, there is a possibility that appropriate sorting of the articles may be difficult. If the inlet width of the chutes is increased to accommodate the variation of the release timing of articles, there is a possibility that the size of the conveyance path may increase, and accordingly the installation area of the conveyance path may increase.